It’s time to cue up that holiday playlist, check the tire pressure, pack some snacks, and hit the road! This month and next, the Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights invites reindeer-loving road-trippers to take a winding tour through ten spectacularly-decked-out cities across northern and central Louisiana. With parades, carriage rides, downtown strolls and shops, and multiple appearances by the Jolly Old Elf himself, this holiday trail is the destination of the season.
Christmas in Roseland
Christmas in Roseland transforms Shreveport's American Rose Center into a whimsical wonderland of twinkling lights, giant Christmas cards, and other holiday displays.
Planning a trip couldn’t be easier! Hotels offer special rates in each city—the Holiday Trail of Lights leads the way to activities and attractions in towns along the I-20 and I-49 corridors. So you can start at any point and choose between custom itineraries to experience the trail over the course of a day, weekend, or an entire week, if you like. Advance tickets are recommended for popular dated events in each city, and you’ll find plenty of helpful details available on the Holiday Trail of Lights website. But to get you in the spirit, here’s an introduction to what participating destinations have to offer.
Alexandria/Pineville
Holiday Light Safari
Alexandria Zoological Park, 3016 Masonic Drive, Alexandria
Fridays & Saturdays, Nov 29–30, Dec 6–7, 13–14, 20–21
Thursday—Saturday, Dec 26–28
5:30 pm–9 pm (last entry 8 pm)
A wild and wonderful holiday adventure awaits at Alexandria Zoo’s Holiday Light Safari. Stroll the Zoo’s illuminated pathways and encounter playful lit animal figures and a symphony of colorful lights that dance and shimmer among the trees. Grand Opening Friday, November 22
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Desoto Parish/Stonewall
Lumiere, 1225 Lumiere Lane (Stonewall)
Grand Opening Friday, Nov 22, then open daily 5 pm–10 pm
6 pm–9 pm Dec 24 & 25
5 pm–11pm Dec 31 (subject to change)
Admission: Tickets required, advance online purchase recommended. christmasatlumiere.com
In the village of Stonewall, Louisiana’s newest Christmas lights park dazzles with immersive attractions and larger-than-life displays, including a Christmas tree glittering with 300,000 programmable pixels that deliver vibrant video animations and synchronized light shows. There’s also a half-mile trail of twinkling lights to follow, a light maze, snow tubing slide, open-air jumpers, a retail market and more.
Holiday Trail of Lights in Minden
The area around downtown Minden's water tower is beautifully decorated during the holiday season.
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Minden
Christmas Cards to the Community
Nov 21—Dec 31, around the Water Tower, downtown Minden
This years-old tradition throws open the doors to local businesses, organizations, churches, and schools to the thousands of visitors who pass through downtown Minden, which is beautifully decorated for the Christmas season.
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Monroe-West Monroe
Candy Cane Lane
Nov 8—Jan 4
Daily from 6 pm–10 pm
170 Hwy 151 North (Calhoun)
Monroe-West Monroe’s drive-through Christmas light park created by Ben & Amy Hanson has been years in the making. The family’s immersive holiday experience features over a million lights, illuminating a magical, mile-long trail.
Brad Ferguson
Fireworks over the Cane Rive Lake
Fireworks burst above Cane River during Natchitoches's Christmas celebrations.
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Natchitoches
Natchitoches Christmas
Daily from Nov 23—Jan 6
Downtown Natchitoches
Over 300,000 lights illuminate the pretty architecture of downtown Natchitoches each night, with fireworks and live music taking place throughout the month of December.
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Shreveport-Bossier
Christmas in Roseland
Fridays–Sundays Nov 29—Dec 15, and daily Dec 16—23
5:30 pm–10 pm, fireworks show at 8:30 pm
8877 Jefferson Paige Road (Shreveport)
The American Rose Center in Shreveport is transformed into a whimsical winter wonderland complete with twinkling lights, giant Christmas cards, and other holiday displays.
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Ruston
Lincoln Lights Up the Pines
Dec 5—7, 12—14
5:30 pm–10 pm
Lincoln Parish Park
211 Parish Park Road (Ruston)
Owners of vintage campers pull their holiday-themed retro trailers up alongside whimsically decorated local businesses. It’s all set against the backdrop of Lincoln Parish Park, where the pines are illuminated with 3-miles of Christmas lights.
That's just a taste. To discover all that Louisiana's Holiday Trail of Lights has in store for 2024, holidaytrailoflights.com.
